Calderdale historical buildings

Halifax Courier

A look at four buildings in Halifax and Hebden Bridge - Halifax Old Borough Magistrates' Court, the Birchcliffe Centre, the former Royal Halifax Infirmary and Dean Clough - to learn what they are used for today.

Transcript

00:00Calderdale is full of historical buildings, each one with fascinating links to the past.

00:06Although many of these buildings are used for very different reasons today,

00:10they are still important to their surrounding communities.

00:13Here, we take a look at four buildings in Halifax and Hebden Bridge to learn what they are used for today.

00:20Now occupied by Calderdale Music Service, the Halifax Old Borough Magistrate's Court opened in 1900

00:27and features some ornate wood carvings and stunning stained glass windows.

00:31The former courtroom has been transformed into a performance space and school children as well

00:37as community groups make great use of the refurbished rooms for lessons, rehearsals and

00:42events. In Hebden Bridge, the Birchcliffe Centre is a Grade II listed former Baptist chapel.

00:49It is now run by Pennine Heritage and its various spaces are used by small businesses and local groups.

00:56People come here who have had family members who have been involved with the centre.

01:02They have, you know, records that were donated to us in our archives. We have so many people

01:08donate photos to us. We can help to publicise them and store them and use them in creative

01:14endeavors. The way in which certain parts of the building have been preserved that very much

01:19remind you that this was a church. It's important to the other groups that use our space as well.

01:23We have yoga groups, meditation groups, Zen groups and that link to the past and to the

01:29to the former spirituality of the church, even if they're not Christian, is actually really

01:34important. The use of the space is very different today but that sense of continuity and this space

01:41being for the community and the part of the community I think is what links the past with the

01:46present. The centre looks after a number of collections as part of the South Pennine Archives.

01:52Alex Taylor, a trustee of Pennine Heritage, looks after the collection of pioneering local

01:58photographer Alice Longstaff. It's amazing. It's got the awe factor. I mean it's a big place.

02:06It's touch wood. It's in fantastic condition. It's really warm and welcoming atmosphere here.

02:13Even when you're in here on your own doing whatever you might be doing, it's just nice.

02:17It's just a nice feel to it. It's hard to describe but it just feels right here. The

02:22amount of people we have coming in saying, I didn't know this was here. I didn't know this.

02:25Wow, what a building, what a building. So it's not just me that thinks that, it's people who've

02:29never seen it before. The former Royal Halifax Infirmary opened in 1896 but has since been

02:37converted into apartments. Its history has been preserved however by volunteers from the Halifax

02:43Heritage Tours Group who have collected the stories of people who worked there and memorabilia.

02:48One example is the pelican which became a symbol of charity and parenthood at the infirmary and

02:55was displayed on the nurse's badges. The infirmary closed in 2000 but the apartment complex still

03:02retains some original architectural features including arches, ward layouts and carvings in

03:09the stonework with the names of the infirmary's original benefactors. On the other side of town

03:16Deanclough is a Victorian mill complex which was once home to the world's largest carpet

03:21manufacturers. Today its buildings are used by a variety of shops, restaurants, artists and

03:29businesses including for performances and exhibitions. This exhibition that's on now is

03:35the biennial of all the artists who are based in Deanclough presently. It's an opportunity for a

03:42very diverse group of artists to come together and show their very eclectic work. From my point of

03:48view I've been an artist for the last 35 years and being at Deanclough gives me a real opportunity

03:57to be amongst a supportive network of other artists and creative people. When we started

04:05and the whole place was empty then persuading people about what it might be was quite a task

04:12at that point whereas today obviously you come and you see all the activity which is here and all the

04:17businesses and everything else. The elements that are there because it's a historic building are

04:22also the things that you want to embrace and celebrate in the process of the reuse but not by

04:28ignoring its heritage but by embracing its heritage. These buildings you know they represent

04:35an enormous part of the history of Halifax and they're an immense part of the community of

04:45Halifax because there's so many people who've worked here thousands and thousands of people

04:49so there's a wonderful aspect about repurposing and reusing that legacy that we as a community

04:56are incredibly fortunate to have to embrace.

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